


Book 1: A Very Clumsy Cinderella (Marth's Version)

by Maridash4ever



Series: Elise's Storybooks: Fire Emblem Fairytales [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo | Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Based On A Fairy Tale, Based on Cinderella, Clumsy Main Character, F/M, God Complex, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inferiority Complex, Jealousy, Male Cinderella, Perfectionism, Rags to Riches, be yourself, envy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 10:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13715889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maridash4ever/pseuds/Maridash4ever
Summary: Who am I?I don't want to be Cinderella.I don't want to be walked all over.But, I am.I don't want to be abused.I don't want to suffer.But, I am.I want to be the CinderellaWho fights for themselfWho stands up for their own rightsBut, I'm not.Instead, I'm the clumsy CinderellaWho screws up everythingWho wants to dieWho hates themselfThat's me.





	Book 1: A Very Clumsy Cinderella (Marth's Version)

**Author's Note:**

> Original Fairytale Name: Cinderella  
> Original Author: Charles Perrault
> 
> *DISCLAIMER: Be warned! This fic contains themes of self-harm, alcohol abuse, and domestic abuse! If you are uncomfortable with these topics, please turn back! However, if you want to read an alternate, more child-appropriate version of this fic, check out the link below. I don't own Fire Emblem or its characters! This fic is set in an alternate universe, so read below to know about the AU!*
> 
> 1\. Marth is really clumsy. Like REALLY clumsy. Like Felicia levels of clumsy.  
> 2\. Cornelius ISN'T dead.  
> 3\. Liza is, however.  
> 4\. Marth doesn't know Liza is dead.  
> 5\. Nyna is not a princess, rather she is just a rich maiden.  
> 6\. Nyna gave birth to Michalis and Xane with another man previous to this story's events.  
> 7\. Maria and Minerva are not related to Michalis.  
> 8\. Xane is not a Divine Dragon.
> 
> Felicia's Cinderella (Child-Friendly): https://archiveofourown.org/works/13955004/chapters/32124252

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, I'm pretty sure you know this story  
> But, this version's a little more gory  
> In the outskirts of Altea, a boy cried  
> For help, no response, no matter how hard he tried
> 
> Stuck as a servant by his own step-brothers  
> Doesn't even know what happened to his mother  
> Tortured and beaten by his own parent  
> 'Cause the father got drunk after the remarriage
> 
> Yet, that's the daily life of this young boy  
> Filled with despair, never any joy  
> But even though that sounds quite gory  
> This is just one part of the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy. Here we go, kicking off a new series: Elise's Storybooks.  
> So, basically, this fic is a twisted version of the classic tale, Cinderella. And Marth is Cinderella. Yay. ^o^
> 
> *If you don't like it, don't read it!*

_Once upon a time, there was a kind girl named Cinderella. All of the animals loved her. They'd do anything for the girl they called Cinderelly. Cinderella lived with her stepmother and her two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella. They were very mean to Cinderella, making her work all day cleaning, sewing, and cooking. She tried her best to make them happy. Cinderella's stepmother, Lady Tremaine, was cold, cruel, and jealous of Cinderella’s charm and beauty. She enjoyed giving Cinderella extra chores to do._

_One day, a messenger arrived with a special invitation. There was going to be a royal ball at the palace! The King wanted his son to find a bride. Every young woman in the kingdom was invited—including Cinderella! Cinderella was very excited about the ball. In the attic, she found a dress that had belonged to her mother. It was a bit old-fashioned, but Cinderella could make it beautiful! Lady Tremaine didn't want Cinderella to go to the ball. She wanted the Prince to meet Anastasia and Drizella. Maybe he would marry one of them! Lady Tremaine kept Cinderella busy with chores that would take her all night to finish._

_While Cinderella was working, the mice and birds fixed her dress. They added ribbons and beads that the two stepsisters had thrown away. Working together, the animals turned a simple dress into a fabulous gown! Cinderella was overjoyed when she saw the dress. Now she could go to the ball! When the stepsisters saw their old ribbons and beads on Cinderella's dress, they flew into a rage. They ripped the dress and pulled off the beads. Lady Tremaine didn't stop them._

_Cinderella's dream of going to the ball was through. Cinderella ran away to the garden to cry. Suddenly, her fairy godmother appeared. With a wave of her wand, she turned a pumpkin into an elegant coach. Cinderella could now go to the ball, but her dress was still ruined. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" said the Fairy Godmother, waving her wand again. Cinderella was now wearing a beautiful gown and sparkling glass slippers. But all of this came with a warning: When the clock struck midnight, the magic spell would wear off!_

_At the ball, Prince Charming couldn't take his eyes off Cinderella. The orchestra played, and the Prince began to dance with the wonderful girl whose name he still didn't know. For Cinderella, the night was a dream come true. Before too long, the clock began to strike midnight. "Good-bye!" Cinderella said, hurrying away. "Come back!" called the Prince. "I don't even know your name!" As Cinderella fled, one of her glass slippers came off._

_The Prince sent the Grand Duke to find the girl who fits the glass slipper. Lady Tremaine locked Cinderella in the attic, but Cinderella's mouse friends freed her. Then Lady Tremaine tripped the Grand Duke, and the glass slipper shattered . . . but Cinderella had the other in her pocket. And it fit! Cinderella and the Prince were soon married. Everyone rejoiced, including Cinderella's mouse friends, who wore special outfits to the wedding. Filled with joy, Prince Charming and Cinderella lived happily ever after._

**_Everyone knows the story of Cinderella. Of course. But this story is different._ **

**_This one is filled with abuse. Hardship. Loss. Tons of stumbles._ **

**_Will this Cinderella find his happy ending?_ **

* * *

Elise ran up to Leo with a smile on her face. "Onii-chan, you know what time it is!"

Leo let out an exasperated sigh, shutting the history book he was previously reading. "Let me guess, it's time for me to tell you a bedtime story." He said bluntly, only to smile at his sister a few seconds later.

"Spot on!" Elise shouted happily, grabbing Leo's arm and pulling him into her room, which was two doors away from his own. "Elise! No need to pull me like that!" Leo shouted.

His bubbly sister started to bounce up and down, her hair doing the same. "I'm sorry, I'm just SO EXCITED!" She jumped onto her bed and quickly wrapped herself in her pink blanket. "What's tonight's story?"

"Ohh, umm..." Leo started. He was too concerned about his battle strategy plans to even think of the story he was going to read to Elise. "Hmm..."

Elise's face turned red as she pouted angrily. "Did you forget to get a storybook?! This happened last week, too!"

"Stop whining, Elise. I have a story for you." Leo stated. He put his finger up to his chin as if he was thinking.  _Crap, did I ever tell Elise the story of Cinderella?_

Still upset, Elise glared at Leo. "Soooo, what's the story?" She asked impatiently.

"Did I ever tell you the story of Cinderella?" Leo questioned. 

"Oh, Sakura told me the story already!" Elise responded, eyes twinkling, mouth smirking.

"Damn it. Umm..." Leo was running out of ideas. "I'll be right back, Elise. Don't move." He left the room as an excuse.

Camilla, Leo's older sister, walked up to him, as she saw him deep in thought. "What's wrong, Leo, dearie?"

"Don't call me that, Camilla. And I'm thinking-what stories didn't we tell Elise?" Leo responded, leaning against the wall outside of Elise's room.

"Why don't you come up with your own? You're intelligent, so I'm sure you could come up with something on the fly." Camilla suggested, twirling a lock of her purple curls around her finger.

"Hmm...that's not a bad idea. Thanks, Camilla." Leo replied, coming back into Elise's room.

"Soo..." Elise started, even more, impatient than before.

"Fine. Why don't I tell you a different version of Cinderella?" Leo asked, pulling up a wooden chair (with a pink pillow on it) and sitting on it.

Elise nodded. "Alright! And it better be good! Last week's story was awful!"

Leo sighed, even though he was partially smiling. He changed his usual cold tone completely and started to read...

_"Once upon a time, in the outskirts of a country named Altea-a land torn by war-lived the Lowell family. The family consisted of a man named Cornelius, two horrid stepbrothers named Michalis and Xane, and one clumsy, kind boy named Marth._

_Marth was a hard worker, never slacking off, but his clumsiness tended to hinder his performance and his self-confidence along with it. His two stepbrothers often teased him because of this, and they ridiculed him by forcing him to do all of the house chores like a servant._

_Marth's true mother, Liza, had died from a plague that spread around the country like wildfire, but Marth was unaware of this due to his father not telling him. He simply thought Cornelius and Liza had just divorced. Cornelius had remarried to a rich maiden named Nyna, but he started drinking in an attempt to forget the grief of his previous wife's death._

_Because of Cornelius's alcoholism, he started to abuse Marth as a result. He treasured Michalis and Xane more than anything and spoiled them rotten._

_Marth's only friends were animals, causing him to be super shy and timid around other people. He had no one else he could trust."_

* * *

Not knowing what to do next-as he had already finished his regular chores-Marth paced around outside of the house. "I've never had this kind of free time before, what do I do now?" He asked himself, quietly. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, and looked around, only to see a bunch of birds gathering on one of the house's windowsills.

"Aw! They're so cute!" Marth exclaimed blissfully, as he walked up to the birds. Smiling innocently, he started to stroke his fingers through one of the bird's velvety feathers. Instead of flying away, like most birds would, the other birds came closer to Marth's delicate hand, wanting to be petted. 

Marth found this to be quite relaxing. At least, more relaxing than his usual cleaning, cooking, and chaos. He felt most comfortable around animals rather than other people because of his shy nature. Stroking the other birds' feathers, he couldn't help but smile even more. Those birds were just so adorable!

Suddenly, the window opened. The same window that the birds were sitting on. Shocked, all the birds flew away as fast as lightning. Marth's temporary happiness disappeared, as he already had a feeling who opened the window and why.

"Loser! Stop wasting time! Didn't I ask you to get me and Xane some tea?" An arrogant voice asked from the open window. Oh, wonderful. It's Michalis.

Timidly, Marth blushed a little bit. "I-I don't remember you ever asking me that..." He stuttered shyly, his bangs covering his eyes, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. 

Michalis rested his arms on the windowsill-cocky smirk and all-and started to complain, "Well, I'm asking you now, so get on it, Cinderboy!"

"Cinderboy" was a nickname that Michalis gave Marth a while back. The nickname started from an incident in which Marth stumbled and fell into a fireplace (it wasn't on, luckily), resulting in him being completely covered in cinders and ash. Michalis thought the clumsy accident was so hilarious that he never let Marth live it down, giving him that ridiculous name.

Marth let out a long sigh. "Whatever you say, Michalis..."

Still smirking cockily, Michalis watched as Marth walked out of the front yard to go to the marketplace. "Don't trip on your way out, klutz!" He called out, obnoxiously cackling afterward.

Xane, who was behind Michalis the whole time, cackled along with him. "DAMN IT!" Michalis swore aloud. "What are you doing, skulking around like that?!"

Not saying a word, Xane held up two pairs of binoculars and smirked. Michalis smirked back at him, knowing what they were going to do. "Time to stalk Marth?" Michalis asked.

"Time to stalk Marth," Xane replied.

* * *

Walking through the marketplace near his house, Marth sighed and began to talk to himself. "Why is this my life?" He asked himself, dejectedly, not paying attention to the ground around him. He only noticed all the other villagers around him beginning to chatter with each other (mostly the females). 

_"He's so attractive! I wonder why he's so sad."_

_"It's such a shame to see a boy that handsome not being royalty."_

_"Does nobody notice that he's covered in ash?"_

_"So, what do you think happened to him?"_

Looking around, Marth started to blush. A lot. "P-please stop looking at me..." He said quietly. So quietly that only he could hear his own words. 

"Aww!" All the girls surrounding him exclaimed. They all squealed in delight at Marth acting quite shy (like always). "He's _so ADORABLE!"_   One of the girls excitedly screeched. 

Xane and Michalis (who were watching their brother from a nearby bush of all things) were furious at the sight of this. "What's so attractive about him?" Michalis asked, turning his head to Xane, jealousy boiling in his blood. 

"I don't know! Is clumsiness sexy or something?" Xane questioned, as angry as Michalis was. "This is stupid." Xane proceeded to bluntly say, tossing his binoculars behind his back.

"And boring. And infuriating." Michalis continued, imitating Xane's previous action. "We need to think of something better to do." At the corner of his eye, Michalis saw a trash bin and smirked. 

"I have an idea." He said quietly to Michalis, only for the two to sneak out of the bush and back to their house.

"Please, stop staring at me!" Marth exclaimed, only a little bit louder than normal, causing all the girls surrounding him to back away. "Oh, we're so sorry! We didn't realize we were bothering you!" One of the girls apologized, bowing down to him in a maid-like fashion.

Marth brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "N-no, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

 _"THAT_ was yelling?" Another girl softly questioned another one who was standing next to her, using her hand to cover the volume of the words.

"I-I hope y-you can forgive me..." Marth stammered, causing the girls to squeal once again. "Of course we'll forgive you!" "Why wouldn't we?!" "SO CUTE!"

Face all red, Marth fled the area as fast as he could in order to avoid further embarrassment. He covered his face with his right hand, leaving a small opening for his eye. In the corner of his eye, he saw a stand that was selling tea leaves. He sighed in relief. "Good. I'll actually get  _something_ done today."

He walked up to the stand, not making eye contact with the red-haired lady who was selling said tea leaves. "Would you like to buy some tea leaves?" She asked in a confused way, wondering why Marth wasn't looking at her. Her gesture: having one finger to her chin, really signaled confusion.

Marth shyly nodded and took out some silver coins. He put all of the coins in the palm of his hand and held it up to the merchant lady. Not knowing how much he actually had beforehand, his eyes widened in shock. "This is all I have?!" He cried out in a panic.

"That's unfortunate." The merchant bluntly said. She genuinely felt bad that she couldn't sell the tea leaves to Marth. Marth looked like he's been through a lot, so, even though the lady knew it was wrong, gestured to Marth to come closer to her.

Marth, despite being slightly scared, came closer to her. Using her hand to cover the sound from the crowd, she whispered into his ear, "As long as you don't tell anyone that I did this...you can have the tea leaves for free." Shocked by her kindness, Marth jumped back. "Really?!" He exclaimed brightly.

"Really." She said, winking slyly at him. Taking her finger off of her chin, she used a wooden spoon to scoop up a handful of tea leaves, put them in a bag, and handed them to Marth. "Here. Remember: don't tell anyone!"

Taking the bag, Marth finally looked up at her, eyed her and smiled. "Thank you! I'm in your debt!"

"Oh, no. It was nothing, really. Don't you worry." She replied, putting the wooden spoon back in its proper position. She placed her finger on her chin again and smiled back at Marth. 

As Marth walked off with a spring in his step, the lady waved and called out to him, "Have a nice day!" Marth turned on his heel to face her and waved back at her.

* * *

"It's not every day you meet a shopkeeper that nice." Marth murmured to himself as he was walking back to the house, holding the bag of tea leaves with his right arm. He was still smiling because of that merchant's kindness. Growing up with an abusive father really took a toll on young Marth. Kindness wasn't something he was used to. 

That's when Xane and Michalis's plan came into action. Beforehand, Xane had-

"KYA!" Marth exclaimed, almost tripping over what appeared to be a crumpled ball of paper. After regaining his balance, Marth looked down at the ground, only to see more crumpled paper balls and other miscellaneous pieces of garbage scattered on the pavement. "Who put all this trash here?!" Marth questioned, angered that someone would do this to the environment.

"Damn. It didn't work." Xane whispered in an annoyed tone to Michalis. The two of them had been watching Marth from behind a fabric stand, hoping Marth would stumble and drop the tea leaves he had just purchased. "Maybe it's because you're so stupid, Xane." Michalis cockily insulted, causing Xane to slap him in the face.

Picking up the trash on the ground, Marth sighed and looked up. Suddenly, Marth heard the whinnying of a horse. Catching his attention, a blue-haired woman with a salmon-colored knee-high dress dismounted her white horse and came up to him. "You look like you need some assistance. Would you like me to help you?" The woman asked. 

Feeling guilty that he was taking up a fair lady's precious time, Marth shook his head no. "Oh, me? I'm fine, thank you."  

Disregarding Marth's refusal, the woman knelt down and began to pick up the crumpled paper balls. "Don't worry, I insist. It's just a natural instinct for me, I guess." She responded, looking at Marth. "What's your name?"

Marth blushed. "Uhh...my name?" He asked, pointing at himself just to make sure. The woman nodded in response. "O-oh. My name is Marth. How about you?"

The woman started, "Me? Oh! That's a surprise. I'm Pr-," only to be interrupted by a muscular man with a scar on his face galloping up to her on his horse. "Miss, we need to get back to your duties. You can't be late for your meeting." He stated in a stern voice.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Sir! It's just that I wanted to help this young boy pick up this trash. You know me and my natural instinct to help people. You are my guardian, after all." She replied, standing up and facing the mounted, muscular man. 

Confounded, Marth turned his head to face the woman. "Duties? Meeting?" He whispered to himself. "Huh. She must be pretty important."

"Alright, alright, mi'lady. Just finish helping this young man and we'll be taking our leave." The man stated, waiting patiently for the lady on his horse. The woman, carrying several paper balls with her arms, tossed them into a nearby trash can. Marth did the same.

The woman brushed her bangs out of her eyes and began to walk off with the man. However, as they were walking, she turned her head back at Marth and waved, causing Marth to wave back at her. The chatter between the woman and the man gradually faded as they walked further and further from Marth.

"It's too bad I didn't get that woman's name." Marth murmured to himself quietly before taking a detour to reach his house faster.

Jealous of Marth getting the assistance of such a pretty lady, Xane and Michalis looked at each other angrily. Seeing Marth walking back to the house, Michalis started to panic. "Quick. We need to get back to the house before Marth does so he won't find out that we've been stalking him." Michalis stated with urgency in his tone of voice. 

The two envious step-brothers stood up, brushed the leaves off of their clothes, and ran back to the house on a path that was parallel to the one Marth was walking on.

* * *

Upon reaching the entryway of the house, Marth sighed nervously. He walked up to the front of the house and quietly and carefully opened the door to the house, hoping not to face the wrath of his father. 

Marth stepped into the house, only to see Michalis sitting on a couch parallel from the fireplace. "Ah, you're finally back." Michalis snobbily remarked. "Did you get the tea leaves, Cinderboy?"

Showing Michalis the bag of tea leaves, Marth felt a tad nervous. He began to think,  _What if I bought the wrong ones? Will he notice? Oh, I hope not!_

Michalis walked up to Marth and thoroughly inspected the bag of tea leaves, making sure that Marth purchased the correct ones. "So, what are you waiting for? Get to making the tea! And step on it!" Michalis demanded, pointing his finger at Marth.

"O-o-o-of course! I-I-I-I'll get on it right away!" Marth stammered awkwardly, before dashing off into the kitchen to make the tea that Michalis and Xane wanted.

Humming soundly, Marth started to boil some water in a brass kettle. Suddenly, he heard a loud stomping noise, as if someone was really, really angry. This worried Marth quite a lot.  _Oh, crap! Did I do something wrong?! I hope that isn't fath-_

"MAAAAAAAAARTH!" A loud, demanding voice yelled out from a nearby room. Marth flinched in terror. "Oh no, no, no, no, no!" He silently cried out, panicking and looking around frantically. 

Turning around to face the doorway in the blink of an eye, he saw his father, furious and fists clenched. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually looked up how to make tea for this fic. No joke.


End file.
